Road collisions are driving trauma centre admissions

ONE in five patients admitted to trauma centres were involved in road crashes in 2016, according to new figures obtained by Brake, the road safety charity.

Road traffic collisions were the second largest cause of trauma admissions, after falls from less than two metres.

Last year, a total of 11,486 road users — the equivalent of 31 a day — were admitted to trauma centres in England and Wales with life-threatening injuries.

Brake commissioned an analysis by the Trauma Audit and Research Network, which records information about patients admitted to trauma centres, set up to deal with the most severe injuries in England and Wales.

The regions with the highest proportion of road collision trauma patients were found to be as follows: